Adjustment mechanism for microscopes



Dec. 15, 1953 A. A. GRADSAR ADJUSTMENT MECHNISM FOR MICROSCOPES driginal Filed June 29, 194e nnann M mnunrnnun HNWENTR /V A. GRAD/Slg@ Patented Dec. l5, i953 ADJUSTMENT ME MICROS CHANISM FOR COPES Albin A. Gradisar, Snyder, N. Y., assigner to American Gptical Mass., a voluntary ass Original application June 680,446, now Patent No.

Company,

Southbridge,

ociation of Massachusetts 29, 1946, Serial No. 2,560,169, dated July Divided and this application March 14, 1950, Serial No. 149,568

(CI. o8-39) This invention relates to adjustment mechanisms for microscopes and the like, and more particularly relates to line adjustment mechanisms for accurately focusing the body tubes of such microscopes relative to the stages thereof. The invention is equally useful for adjusting the condenser assemblies of such microscopes,

when desired, relative to their stages. This aptzon Serial No. 580,446, led June 29, 1946, now Patent No. 2,560,169.

The high degree of refinement to which the present day research, polarizing, etrograpbic and similar microscopes have been developed has resulted in placing exceedingly heavy loads upon both the coarse and line adjustment mech-- anisms for the body tubes of such microscopes. Similarly heavy loads have been placed upon the adjustment mechanisms for the condenser assemblies of such microscopes, `For example, when a microscope body tube is provided with an inclined binocular head and a rotatable nosepiece carrying three or four objectives, the weight upon the adjustment mechanisms therefor at the upper end of the tiltable supporting arm of the microscope becomes excessive. Likewise a condenser assembly which uses, for eX- ample, a main condenser unit, a swingable auxiliary condenser unit, an Ahrens polariser, a pair of adjustable iris diaphragms and a mirror places a heavy load upon the adjustment mechanism employed for mounting such structure upon the lower end of the tiltable supporting arm of the microscope. lt is not only necessary that such adjustment mechanisms move the body tube condenser assembly smoothly and evenly throughout their entire range of travel but equally necessary that they be definite and positive in their holding action for maintaining the parts in any adjusted position during use of the instrument. Furthermore, during use of such a highly developed instrument, it is often desirable to be able to adjust the body tube accurately through minute known distances for measuring thicknesses of specimens and the like, without requiring calculations to be made and without consideration of the particular position of the body tube on the supporting arm, as was formerly required when accurate depth measurements were desired. It is, accordingly, Lan object of the present invention to provide new and improved iine adjustmeni; mechanisms for microscopes. It is a further object of the invention to provide new and improved mechanisms for producing une :f1-a adjustment between relatively movable parts of a microscope with the operating parts of said mechanism completely enclosed so as to be concealed and protected from dust and the like. it is an additional object of the invention to provide fine adjustment mechanisms of the character described which are of economical and sturdy construction, are formed of few parts, are constructed and calibrated to give positive operation and accurate indication of distances traversed by body tube or condenser assembly and which have a minimum number of movable parts Where any appreciable wear may occur.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description or" a preferred form of the invention when taken in con- 4junction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view oi a microscope embodying the present invention;

2 is an enlarged plan view of certain adjustable parts of the microscope of Fig. 1 and showing portions thereof in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line fi-i of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a side View of the lever mechanism of Fig. fi, enlarged somewhat to show certain details thereof;

Figs. 6 and l show diiierent positions for the lever mechanism of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is similar to 5 but shows the nventon applied to a lever mechanism oi different shape to accommodate driving and driven members which act in directions which differ materially from the ninety degree relationship provided in Fig. 5; and

Fig. Qis a fragmentaryT view of a modified lever arm construction.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that the microscope indicated generally by the numeral i has a supporting base I2 upon which a curved supporting arm it is tiltably mounted for pivotal movement about an inclination joint it so that a microscope body tube it carried upon the upper end of this arm and a condenser assembly il carried upon the lower end thereof may be simultaneously tilted for oonveniently positioning an eyepiece 2?. for use by an operator. On the lower end or" body tube IS is carried an objective 2t. While the present disclosure of Fig. l shows a monocular microadjustment and inspection of specimens.

scope secured to a supporting or mounting block on it and employs only a single objective, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other types of body tubes carrying heavier structures of known construction may as readily be secured upon the mounting block 2b for adjustment purposes. Adjustment of block 2% and the structure carried thereby will move and focus the objective ifi relative to a stage 2S and objects or specimens supported thereon. Adjustment of a carriage 3G supported on the lower end oi arm le will change the position of the condenser assembly Eil relative to the stage 28.

In order to provide coarse and ne adjustments for the body tube I3 there are provided a pair of lrnobs S'fA and 92B and a second pair of knobs MA and 3dB, respectively. The knobs 34A and 35B are located appreciably lower on the supporting arm il'. than the knobs 32A and 552B for the convenience of the operator during fine Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the fine adiustment mechanism comprises a tubular member secured. in a transverse opening in the arm iii by screws 3l and this member 36 has opening 38 formed therein for receiving the lower long arm lid of a lever d'2 which is pivoted on member M threaded into the supporting arm irl. Pivot member dd is so positioned that a short it of lever ense ges the rectilinear lower surface of said block which is disposed at right angles to the direction of movement of the block 48 so that as the lower end Ml of the lever is moved laterally the short arm thereof will vertically adjust the block d8. An irregular rer-ess :lg is provided in arm i4 for accommodating portions of block $1.5 and lever 42. Small antifricti on rollers are carried bv the long and short of lever d2 for reducing friction in the parts and. so that the slight arcuate movement of said. short arm i6 about pivot d4 will not produce any lateral pressure on block 48.

Block i8 is rigidly secured to an intermediate supporting member 50 which has secured at its opposite sides bearing blocks 52. A bearing block 54 is suitably iixedly secured to the arm i4 and V-shaped vertically evtending bearing guides are formed in the opposed surfaces of these blocks and. 54 so that a plurality of ball bearings sep i by spacer members may be positioned, as indicated at 5G., between these opposed guideways and. serve to allow limited vertical movement oi intermediate member 5B relative to the arm ld and bearing block 55.. 5d is provided with a central opening 58 through which block extends and this opening is of sufiicient length to adequately allow the desired vertical movement of members 43 and 50 throughout the fine adjustment range of the instrument. A spring pressed plunger assembly Sli is arranged in I4 to bear downwardly upon the upper surface of block 43 and firmly maintain this block in engagement with the roller carried by the short arm of lever 42. A removable cover t? is secured in a recess formed in the upper end of intermediate supporting member 50 and arranged to overlie the bearing guideways and said plunger assembly and protect same from dust, foreign particles and the like.

The tubular member 36 has end portions which extend appreciably laterally beyond the sides of arm ifi and. one of these extensions is internally annularly recessed to receive a ring G4 of only slightly less internal diameter than tubular mem- The bearing block l .-f

ber 36 and the inner surface thereof is provided with fine threads adapted to be engaged by an enlarged. threaded end portion B5 of a ne adjustment member 63. A narrower intermediate portion l0 of the member G8 is provided to accommodate the long arm of lever 42 and an integral bearing collar 'l2 is provided on member G8 adjacent narrow portion 'l for engagement with the roller on the end of long arm QB so that as member (i3 is rotated the threaded end portion 66 will cause lateral micrometer adjustment or displacement of the member 68 and bearing collar 12 and, accordingly, pivotal movement of lever 42 for the fine adjustment of the members 48 and 50 and thus microscope body tube I8. The collar 12 thus provides at all times a straight line or rectilinear bearing surface for engaging the roller on the long lever arm which is disposed at right angles to the direction of movement of the member 6B.

Handles 35A and 3dB are secured upon the opposite ends of member 68 for rotating this member and small pins 'i4 are positioned in laterally spaced relation in a recess 1E in the opposite end. portion of member E5 for limiting the lateral adjustment thereof. A screw 18 is threaded into the tubular member 36 and its engagement with one or the other of these pins 'f4 serves as a positive stop to limit the lateral movement of the member @8 as it is rotated in either direction. Skirt portions on handle 34A and 34B overlie the extensions of the tubular member 36 and serve to exclude dust and the like from the interior of the fine adjustment mechanism. Thus it will be seen that adjustment of member 68 toward the left as viewed in Fig. 8 will cause a positive upward movement of block 48 and thus body tube I8. Conversely, spring plunger assembly 6B will cause downward movement of block i3 when the member d8 is shifted toward the right. However, since no positive connection is provided between block i8 and lever i2 no positive pull wili be placed upon block 4S, and should the microscope objective come into contact with the specimen or slide on the stage 23 no excessive or injurious stress will be transmitted to the delicate parts o the iine adjustment mechanism.

The intermediate supporting member' 50 is provided with V-shaped guideways as indicated at 'is arranged to engage the wedge shaped member 853 secured to mounting block 26 and to the vertical eentral portion of member 86 is secured a rack bar 32 for engagement by a pinion 84 fixedly secured to an intermediate portion of a shaft (not shown), mounted for rotation in suitable bearings in the intermediate member 50. Either handle 32A or 32B may be used to rotate this shaft and pinion 84 in either direction for causing vertical movement of the rack 82, block 25 and body tube i3 for coarse adjustment thereof. While the rotatable parts oi the coarse adjustment mechanism are shown as carried. by the intermediate member 5U and the rack bar 32 is carried by block 25, it will be readily apparent that these parts could be reversed, if desired, so that bar B2 would be supported by the intermediate member 5!! and the rotatable parts supported by the block 26. This would be a less desirable arrangement, however, since the control knobs 32A and 32B would then move up and down during coarse adjustment of the instrument. rlihe condenser assembly 39, previously referred to, may be provided with an adjustment .means |00 and it will be obvious that this adjusti planes passing through and containing the pivotal axis of said lever and passing through the geometric centers of said arcuate bearing surraces, respectively, will form for all operative positions of said lever an included angle which is substantially equal to the angle of deviation termed between said first direction and said second direction; whereby all equal increments of movement of said control member will produce corresponding increments of travel o said rst supporting member and optical elements in said iirst direction which are equal and proportional to the ratio of said lever arms, thereby producing a constant lever arm ratio for said adjustment mechanism.

2, ln a microscope ci the character eecribed, the combination of a first supporting member, a second supporting member, guide means interconnecting said supporting members for rectilinear movement, and an adjustment mechanism for changing the relative relation therebetween, said adjustment mechanism comprising an abutment carried by said iirst supporting member and arranged to move therewith in a rst predetermined direction when an actuating force is applied thereto, an operable driving member carried by said second supporting member, a control member connected to said driving member for moving said driving member relative to said second supporting member, a uniicrmly calibrated scale and an index mark adjacent thereto, said scale and index mark being carried in fixed relation to said control member and said second supporting member respectively so as to indicate amounts of relative movement therebetween, said driving member being arranged to move in a second predetermined direction at an angle relative to said rst predetermined direction for producing a driving force, and a movable lever member pivotally mounted upon means carried in fixed relation to said second supporting member, said movable lever member comprising a pair of arcuate bearing surfaces spaced at preselected distances from the pivotal axis of said movable lever member and operatively engaging respectively rectilinear surfaces on said abutment and said driving member, and which rectilinear surfaces are disposed substantially perpendicularly relative to said first and second predetermined directions, respectively, said movable lever member and the abutment and driving member operatively associated therewith being so constructed and arranged that planes containing the pivotal axis of said movable lever member and passing through the geometric centers of said arcuate bearing iracea respectively, form an included angle which is substantially equal to the angle of deviation formed between said predetermined directions of movement of said abutment and said driving member, whereby a substantially constant lever arm ratio is provided said adjustment mechanism so that for each successive predetermined increment of movement of said control member in a forward or reverse direction said abutment will be moved successive equal amounts in a corresponding direction.

3. In a microscope of the character described, the combination of a rst supporting member, a second supporting member, guide means interconnecting said supporting members for rectilinear movement, and an adjustment mechanism for changing the relative relation between said members, said adjustment mechanism comprising an abutment carried by said rst supporting member and arranged to move therewith in a iirst predetermined direction when a driving force is applied thereto, a driving member carried by said second supporting member and arranged to move in a second predetermined direction at an angle of predetermined deviation relative to said nrst direction for producing a driving force, a control member connected to said driving member for moving said driving member relative to said second supporting member, an index mark and a uniformly calibrated scale adjacent thereto, one of said scale and said index mark being carried in xed relation to said control member and the other being carried in xed relation to said second supporting member so as to indicate amounts of relative movement therebetween, and a pivotally mounted element carried by pivot means in xed relation to said second supporting member and establishing a pivotal axis for said element, said element having a pair of curved bearing surfaces thereon operatively engaging respectively rectilinear surfaces on said abutment and said driving member, and which rectilinear surfaces are disposed in substantially perpendicular relation relative to said first and second predetermined directions, respectively, each curved bearing surface being so shaped that all operative portions thereof are substantially equidistantly arranged relative to an adjacent predetermined geometric centery said centers being disposed at preselected distances, respectively, from said axis and establishing a predetermined lever ratio, and `being so spaced from each other that a iirst plane containing said axis and one of said geometric centers and a second plane containing said axis and the other of said geometric centers will have an included angle which is substantially equal to said angle of deviation, whereby for all operative positions of said adjustment mechanism successive equal increments of movement of said control member, as indicated by the calibrations and said index, will effect increments of rectilinear travel of said rst supporting member which are equal to one another and which are directly proportional to said lever ratio.

ALBIN A. GRADISAR.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

